trad
Collected by Sandy Ives from Charles German in PEI. In the late 18th and early 19th century it appeared in broadsides and a number of songsters under the titles “Contentment” or “The Friendly Society.” Popularized by Joe Hickerson.
Joe Hickerson: Drive Dull Care Away
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcgOorCbW4k
Why should we of our lot complain Or grieve at our distress? Some think if riches they could gain T’would be true happiness Alas in vain is all their strife Life’s cares will not allay, Chorus So while we’re here with our friends so dear We’ll drive dull care away. Away, away, away away. We will drive dull care away. So while we’re here with our friends so dear We’ll drive dull care away. Why should the rich despise the poor? Why should the poor repine? While in a few short years we shall In equal friendship bind. They’re both to blame, they’re all the same We are all made of one clay, The only circumstance in life That ever I could find, To conquer care and temper strife Was a contented mind. With this in store we have much more Than all things else convey, So always make the best of life Nor render it a curse, But take it as you would a wife For better and for worse. Life at its best is but a jest, Like a dreary winter’s day,